Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 08:28     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:People think acceleration means superior math knowledge. There is plenty of resesrch that shows acceleration isn’t best practice for most students and leads to gaps. Private schools take math slow and steady so the students understand the concepts and move on ready for the next math class. Don’t compare that with over accelerated and inflated grades from public


Please provide citations for “plenty of research”. I have access to a good quality university library and genuinely want to read the refereed literature on this.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 08:25     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Math is t weak in private schools, it just isn’t as accelerated. Most schools top out at Calc BC, maybe multivar. If you have a kid who needs to go farther, you need public or outside enrichment. But the quality of the classes offered is generally very strong.
it depends on which private?


The top. I do see in Thomas Jefferson math is great. But not sure about private. I do see most kids in private supplementing it with tutors.


Most students who are at TJ, but not all, had *years and years* of outside math supplements (AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, RSM, parents, or other).

If you think that those TJ students became so advanced in math from APS, FCPS, FCCPS, LCPS, or PWCS before getting in to TJ, then you (very sadly) are confused.

This outside supplementing pattern, plus the Curie scandal exposed on Facebook by TJ students who attended Curie, is one of the main reasons that TJ slots now are allocated differently by FCPS. This change was highly controversial and had multiple court cases before resolution. In the prior setup, students from less well off families (who could not afford outside supplementing) really were at a huge structural disadvantage to be accepted at TJ.

(Personally, I have very mixed feelings about the FCPS decision about how to change admissions, and I probably would have done things differently, but the outside supplementing practices definitely were part of the school board’s decision process.)

Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 07:01     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
What’s the point of anything beyond calc bc at most privates? Its application would be too limited. These resources should be allocated elsewhere.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 00:49     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast in an area that is quite Asian (I am also Asian) and parents are intense about school and math. Nevertheless, our 50% Asian private school sucks at teaching math.

We have ~40 kids per grade. It’s just not enough kids to have good math until middle school, when math is leveled and improves in quality. We have some kind of weird curriculum that claims that heterogenous math groups are best for learning before 6th grade. The reality is that most private schools don’t have gifted pull-outs or leveled math groups, and all but the most talented teachers can’t teach to multiple levels at the same time. So one group in each room gets all the attention each year, and everyone else is on their own. One year my dC benefited from this arrangement because the math teacher really focused on their level, but most years DC ends up helping friends figure out the work.

80% of my child’s classmates have tutors this year. We don’t, but one of my DC’s classmates’ parents felt worried about my kid being at a disadvantage and so they copy all of the study guides from their tutor to give to our family.


That seems odd. My kids are in a private K-8 with about 50 kids in each grade and they start levelled math in 2nd grade. There are 5 math classes per grade. I assume this is the same in most privates in DC.


40 is our max and more common in 6th and up. For grades 1-4, we had closer to 30 kids per grade.

I think 50-60 is the minimum you need for multiple math levels.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 00:25     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:We live on the west coast in an area that is quite Asian (I am also Asian) and parents are intense about school and math. Nevertheless, our 50% Asian private school sucks at teaching math.

We have ~40 kids per grade. It’s just not enough kids to have good math until middle school, when math is leveled and improves in quality. We have some kind of weird curriculum that claims that heterogenous math groups are best for learning before 6th grade. The reality is that most private schools don’t have gifted pull-outs or leveled math groups, and all but the most talented teachers can’t teach to multiple levels at the same time. So one group in each room gets all the attention each year, and everyone else is on their own. One year my dC benefited from this arrangement because the math teacher really focused on their level, but most years DC ends up helping friends figure out the work.

80% of my child’s classmates have tutors this year. We don’t, but one of my DC’s classmates’ parents felt worried about my kid being at a disadvantage and so they copy all of the study guides from their tutor to give to our family.


That seems odd. My kids are in a private K-8 with about 50 kids in each grade and they start levelled math in 2nd grade. There are 5 math classes per grade. I assume this is the same in most privates in DC.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 00:18     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
We live on the west coast in an area that is quite Asian (I am also Asian) and parents are intense about school and math. Nevertheless, our 50% Asian private school sucks at teaching math.

We have ~40 kids per grade. It’s just not enough kids to have good math until middle school, when math is leveled and improves in quality. We have some kind of weird curriculum that claims that heterogenous math groups are best for learning before 6th grade. The reality is that most private schools don’t have gifted pull-outs or leveled math groups, and all but the most talented teachers can’t teach to multiple levels at the same time. So one group in each room gets all the attention each year, and everyone else is on their own. One year my dC benefited from this arrangement because the math teacher really focused on their level, but most years DC ends up helping friends figure out the work.

80% of my child’s classmates have tutors this year. We don’t, but one of my DC’s classmates’ parents felt worried about my kid being at a disadvantage and so they copy all of the study guides from their tutor to give to our family.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 00:01     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:Private schools in DC are not mainly for purposes of education. They are designed to eliminate misbehaved children, SN children, low SES status (with a few exceptions to make sure it’s “inclusive”), etc. while the parent screams “my child goes to an inclusive private”. They are there to make the parents feel better. A bragging right if you will. Education is secondary.


WTF are you talking about? You sound like an envious moron.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2025 00:00     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:Really rich people don’t need to be advanced in math. Competent, yes, but they don’t need to take calculus as a 10th grader. They don’t become engineers or god forbid computer scientists. If they run a hedge fund, they hire quant nerds to do the hard work while they ski and deal-make with the other lacrosse bros from Dartmouth.


🏹 so true, I earn half a mil, and i topped out at algebra. My dear best friend is a, what are they called, G14, and has a Ph.D. in a quant subject from Harvard. I don’t program and I also don't get the printer to work, someone else does.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 23:24     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
With legacy admissions doesn’t payoff to invest a lot in math I guess.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 23:17     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Math is t weak in private schools, it just isn’t as accelerated. Most schools top out at Calc BC, maybe multivar. If you have a kid who needs to go farther, you need public or outside enrichment. But the quality of the classes offered is generally very strong.
it depends on which private?


The top. I do see in Thomas Jefferson math is great. But not sure about private. I do see most kids in private supplementing it with tutors.


It really depends on the school. Which private are you talking about?


Top privates in dc.


My kids were in « top privates » in DC and we were very happy with the math education they received. They are no at a top 10 and an Ivy renowned for its economics nobel laureates and Math department. Not sure what mis information you are trying to spread here.


In my kids school too math performers go to RSM. Also I see kids from top schools : GDS, NCS, Sidwell, etc.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 22:49     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:The honest answer is there are less Asians in the private schools. The dc area public schools are so highly ranked not because they are great schools, but because there are so many Asian kids performing at a high level.

Hmm, that does make sense. It may be stereotypical, but I can see that.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 22:48     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Math is t weak in private schools, it just isn’t as accelerated. Most schools top out at Calc BC, maybe multivar. If you have a kid who needs to go farther, you need public or outside enrichment. But the quality of the classes offered is generally very strong.
it depends on which private?


The top. I do see in Thomas Jefferson math is great. But not sure about private. I do see most kids in private supplementing it with tutors.


It really depends on the school. Which private are you talking about?


Top privates in dc.


My kids were in « top privates » in DC and we were very happy with the math education they received. They are no at a top 10 and an Ivy renowned for its economics nobel laureates and Math department. Not sure what mis information you are trying to spread here.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 22:44     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:The honest answer is there are less Asians in the private schools. The dc area public schools are so highly ranked not because they are great schools, but because there are so many Asian kids performing at a high level.


Clown
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 20:58     Subject: Why Math is so weak in private schools?
The honest answer is there are less Asians in the private schools. The dc area public schools are so highly ranked not because they are great schools, but because there are so many Asian kids performing at a high level.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2025 19:32     Subject: Re:Why Math is so weak in private schools?
Anonymous wrote:Math has generally gotten weaker in the US over the last number of decades. This over time leads to smaller pool of teachers that are actually strong enough in math to allow deeper knowledge and love of the subject. Parents are largely in the same boat, so they don’t demand deeper math knowledge from the school. There is the argument that accelerated doesn’t mean they have better math knowledge, but for kids actually strong in math that isn’t true at all. Parents like that argument because it makes them feel that their kid is getting something as good, but in reality they just don’t know what they are missing. And don’t forget that most parents of kids in most expensive privates have strong preconceptions of quality of education in publics. We supplement at one of these schools to keep kids ahead of what school offers in math. Also I think it’s important for them to see teacher that are actually strong at math.


+1